The Defiance of Vim (Catalyst Book 4) by C.J. Aaron (graded readers txt) 📕

should have stayed in the safety of the Erlyn Woods. Why did he have to follow? He had let his emotions guide him.

They led him astray.

Breila sobbed at his side.

The beast cocked its head, angling its vision from him to the madam. It viewed her as nothing more than a meal. It was ready to feed, toying with its prey, savoring the final moments of misery.

The anger swelled in Aelin’s body. An unfamiliar voice raged in his mind. It screamed defiance in the face of his certain death. The sticky blackness that had assailed him earlier vanished in a wave of pure, cleansing calm.

The muscles in his arms flexed as a burning sensation coated his insides. It felt as if he’d drank fire. The Horde snapped its head back in his direction. Its black eyes widened. The anger inside was tinted for an instant with another emotion altogether.

Fear.

Aelin screamed as he pushed against the force pinning him down with all his might. He tossed the corpse and the Horde atop it from his body as if they weighed nothing at all. The beast slammed into the opposite wall of the hallway. Combined with the dead weight of the guard, the pair smashed through the thick timbers, disappearing into the room beyond.

The shock that registered in his mind was dizzying. He could scarcely believe what he’d just witnessed. What he’d just done. The urge to flee swelled. He wasted no time finding his feet. He scooped Breila up with one arm, amazed that her body felt as light as a feather. He darted the final steps down the hall, ducking into the room he’d awakened in.

The scream from the Horde was that of rage.

Aelin tossed Breila onto the bed, slamming the door behind them. He braced himself as the harrier crashed into the thick wooden panel. It was now a test of strength.

Repeatedly the beast hammered the door.

Aelin could feel his strength begin to falter.

Chapter 39

Ryl found his footing quickly. His back stung from where the sharp rocks had struck him. His ears rang from the deafening concussion of the blast. Fires burned all around him as every scrap of wood was lit ablaze by the heat and flame.

The press of the Horde had vanished. The bodies close to the blast had been incinerated. Further away, they’d been mowed down by chunks of jagged debris or rendered helpless as the shock wave churned their insides to mush. A few, likely the lead element, lolled haplessly on the stone roadway. Pools of black blood slickened the ground around them.

Lightning split the sky again, though the flames illuminated all they needed to see. The bridge had been destroyed, the entire center pylon had been demolished, taking with it much of the stone expanse. Only a jagged pillar remained in the center of the river.

Ryl looked for signs of life from the brave soldiers Fay had committed to the task. Nothing moved along the bank. The shrubs were ablaze. The mangled bodies were visible from where he stood.

The garrison had not survived the blast unscathed. The sturdy panel of the door was caved in, the exposed timbers smoldering from the fire that had ravaged it. Large pocks of shattered stone littered the facade facing the bridge. The Lei Guard still lined the top of the wall, though many were clearly just finding their feet. Several gaps appeared in the once consistent line.

The Horde to either side of the garrison wailed and jostled with agitated fury. To the south they screamed in rage, though they tempted the waters not. To the north, they attempted the river crossing with greater frequency. Several fell short, vanishing into the icy water, yet many more still made landfall.

Ryl knew he couldn’t stay. Even if he could cross, he couldn’t face them all alone. He scanned frantically for any signs of Kaep.

Nothing but a sea of blackened shapes moved in his vision.

Ryl turned from the garrison and fled. He shrugged off the final emotional assault of the Lei Guard as he retreated toward Cadsae Proper.

They must sound the retreat. Whether they knew it yet or not, the city had fallen.

Ryl cringed at the wail that sounded from his left. It was the sound of human life being violently snuffed out.

He was close to Breila’s estate. Had Fay reached it in time to barricade the doors? A chilling realization struck him.

The Horde could sense the alexen in much the same way that he could sense them. With the toxin cleared from his system, Aelin would be a beacon for the demons given free range over the Estates.

Ryl dipped into the speed that coursed through his veins. The wind whistled as it rushed by his face. A new set of screams echoed through the night as he reached the entrance to Breila’s estate. Guards on the balcony fired arrows hopelessly into the night. The darkened shapes darted across the courtyard, slaughtering those who stood in defense.

A lanky harrier reached the second-floor balcony. Ryl saw it crash forward, shattering the glass of a tall window, using the body of a guard as a shield.

The resistance of a man in the courtyard had met a futile end. Slashed and dismembered bodies were strewn about. Smears, splatters and pools of blood painted their tragic artwork on the stone canvas.

Ryl slowed as he reached the light of the courtyard. He scanned the area with his mindsight. The only black shapes in his vision were ahead. The glow of the tribute was clear, yet safe on the opposite side of the house for the moment.

He moved rapidly, but cautiously toward the house. The wagon they’d arrived in had been toppled on its side. Ravaged bodies were spread out in a semicircle before it. Large, deep gouges crisscrossed the top of the wagon that now served as its wall. The opposite side, the carriage’s undercarriage, was riddled with arrows. The horses, though panicked and distressed for the moment, were still tethered to the toppled